Hey there!

So we are now back to a post on dialogue! We are starting with the art of writing Regular Conversation. 😉

 

 

There is one big thing to remember while writing Regular Conversation.

Though bookworms are possibly not human, they are more easily drawn into a story if the characters are talking like humans do.

“Well isn’t that helpful?” you say sarcastically, glaring at the screen.

Just a moment, you’ve only read 5 sentences!

But agreed, it’s easier said than done to write Regular Human Conversation. So what’s the secret trick?

Write it like you’d say it.

 

Bookworms have become adept at speaking like humans do, inserting many an ‘er’ ‘um’ and stutter. Naturally, they also wouldn’t enjoy reading it like it like that… but lets put it this way: don’t write it like Shakspeare either. Unless someone is being sarcastic, or that’s their personality. Or they’re Shakespeare come back to life, his ancestor, him back in time…

Man, forget what I even said.

 

Don’t make a character speak like this:

“Thou shalt die tonight, foul villain!”

More like this:

“You’ll die tonight!”

Got it? Regular Conversation. About death. Why are my examples including death.

…

*cough cough*

 

So a recap of what we’ve learned so far:

1. Write it like people say it
2. But not with ‘er’ or ‘um’ because that will annoy bookworms
3. Don’t write it like Shakespeare
4. Unless you have a logical reason

 

So we just write it with normal words, avoid using our amazingly huge vocabulary (the few humans that’ll read our books won’t understand what’s going on otherwise) and without ‘er’ or ‘um’, unless someone is stuttering like mad.

I swear, this post made way more sense in my head.

Attempts at writing Regular Conversation can be very hard, even for The Amazing Julia sometimes. *shakes head sadly* Here’s something else you must remember as you write Regular Conversation:

 

• The character who’s speaking’s personality.

If they’re sassy, you can sass. If they’re quiet, they’ll mumble. If they’re a bully, they’ll be rude. And yes, that counts as Regular Conversation for each of those kinds of characters.

• The circumstances

If someone just died, Regular Conversation between people might be a bit more strained, or solemn.

• The emotions

A character’s emotions and reactions play a big part in the dialogue. If they’re feeling sad, or grumpy, Regular Conversation will be affected by this.

 

And there you have it! How to write Regular Conversation! Hopefully all of that post made sense.

 

 

Once Upon a Goose

Well, I’m still trying to finish chapter 2. 😂

I’ve noticed that just telling myself, “Okay self, you need to finish chapter 2 this week!” doesn’t work out very well. I mean, it’s more specific than just “Write”, but still not enough.

So now, my goal is to write 100 words a day. Knowing myself, I’ll accidentally overachieve. And I’m not wording it with ‘at least’. That makes me want to procrastinate more. This way, I’ll get writing done! 😃

I also made a new decision: I was thinking last Saturday how some parts would make more sense if I did it from the Gwendolyn’s point of view… when I had a lightbulb! What if I wrote the story all the way up to the climax from Linsey’s, then went back to the beginning, and did it again through Gwen’s?! 😄 Once I reach the climax again, I could write the rest from Linsey’s again.

And because this is what people do these days, here are some snippets (even though it’s just a first draft):

The princess is a brat.

 

Gwen screamed with rage, and, seizing up a beautiful glass vase from her end table, threw it hard across the room. It shattered against the wall.

 

The queen gives her daughter a small bittersweet smile, then says, “Godspeed.”

 

Gwen and I exchange glances; mine is confused, and her’s is furious. She obviously doesn’t like her future father in law.

 

The elves and the humans are still at war until the truce is made by the marriage of Gwen and the human prince. They don’t trust us. Becky is not just here to take care of Gwen’s needs; she’s here to keep an eye on me.

Was this a good tip?

What do you think so far about Once Upon a Goose?

-Julia